America the Battlefield

Posted on Dec 13, 2011

John McCain and several other senators are trying to pass an act to include the United States as part of the battlefield in the war on terror, allowing the military to jail American citizens without a trial; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated to an enemy of public education; meanwhile, David Cameron was trying to blackmail the rest of Europe. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

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Indefinite Detention of American Citizens: Coming Soon to Battlefield U.S.A.
There’s some disturbing rhetoric flying around in the debate over the National Defense Authorization Act, which among other things contains passages that a) officially codify the already-accepted practice of indefinite detention of “terrorist” suspects, and b) transfer the responsibility for such detentions exclusively to the military.

Obama: I can’t comment on Wall Street prosecutions
President Obama was interviewed by 60 Minutes‘ Steve Kroft who mentioned a new poll showing that 42% of Americans believe Obama’s policies most favor Wall Street rather than average Americans (only 35% believe the opposite).

Did the Pentagon Help Strangle the Arab Spring?
Of all American military training programs around the world, the most publicized in recent years has been the one building up a local security force to replace U.S. (and NATO) troops as they ever so slowly withdraw from Afghanistan.

Obama admin prosecuting 79 year old man for telling truth about jury rights
Julian P. Heicklen, a 79-year-old retired chemistry professor, has often stood on a plaza outside the United States Courthouse in Manhattan, holding a “Jury Info” sign and handing out brochures that advocate jury nullification, the controversial view that if jurors disagree with a law, they may ignore their oaths to follow it and may acquit a defendant who violated it.

Chelsea Clinton is not only pretending to be a journalist, she has a chief of staff
Chelsea Clinton gave what appears to be her first-ever interview to the New York Times. And we were surprised to learn that the 31-year-old has a “chief of staff.” She’s not the only one.

Gingrich breaking federal law?
Newt Gingrich promised he would ask former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton “to be his secretary of state if he’s elected president next year,” the Washington Times reports.

Occupiers disrupt foreclosure auction
Demonstrators from Occupy New Orleans and Survivors Village disrupted a foreclosure auction taking place in New Orleans.

Everything changed before 9/11
We’ve been told that “9/11 changed everything” and that we’re living in “a post-911 world”.

Using bankruptcy to scare workers
There was once a time when a bankruptcy filing by a company was a mark of shame. That stigma has fallen by the wayside, and firms now employ Chapter 11 not to protect themselves against creditors but for strategic purposes.

Bill Gates’ cover blown; his foundation gives big grant to right wing foe of public education
This is exactly why Bill Gates’ “philanthropy” has always been suspicious.

Why David Cameron rejected a treaty to save the euro
The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, did not intend to emerge from negotiations in total isolation. In essence, he tried to blackmail the rest of Europe: You agree to give special protections to the City, Britain’s financial services sector and we will agree, grudgingly, to a new European treaty or amendments to those which already exist.

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